Spire Wealth Management Trims Stake in Marriott International, Inc. $MAR

Spire Wealth Management cut its stake in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,343 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,706 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $11,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MAR. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Marriott International by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Marriott International by 39.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after buying an additional 1,631 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 39.6% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 19,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,605,000 after buying an additional 5,480 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marriott International by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,438,000 after buying an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marriott International by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 33,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,257,000 after acquiring an additional 5,640 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MAR. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $357.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Marriott International from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Marriott International from $285.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Marriott International from $355.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Marriott International from $320.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marriott International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.47.

Insider Transactions at Marriott International

In other Marriott International news, insider David S. Marriott sold 4,747 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $1,708,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 591,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000,840. The trade was a 0.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Anthony Capuano sold 63,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.22, for a total transaction of $22,630,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 113,617 shares in the company, valued at $40,813,498.74. This represents a 35.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,540 shares of company stock valued at $34,274,055. Insiders own 10.68% of the company’s stock.

Marriott International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MAR opened at $317.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $331.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $302.62. The firm has a market cap of $84.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.09. Marriott International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.40 and a fifty-two week high of $370.00.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.67 billion. Marriott International had a net margin of 9.93% and a negative return on equity of 84.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. Marriott International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.320-11.570 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.500-2.550 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.24%.

Marriott International Profile

Marriott International is a global lodging company that develops, manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Its core activities include hotel and resort management, franchise operations, property development and the provision of centralized services such as reservations, marketing and loyalty program management. The company’s brand architecture spans market segments from luxury and premium to select-service and extended-stay, enabling it to serve a wide range of business and leisure travelers as well as corporate and group customers.

The company traces its roots to the hospitality business founded by J.